Surprised by Grace
by AZGirl
Summary: Steve tries to help Grace deal with a tough situation involving her parents.


**Title**: Surprised by Grace

**Summary**: Steve tries to help Grace deal with a tough situation involving her parents.

**Disclaimer**: Hawaii Five-0 is not mine. I'm just borrowing the concepts and characters for a little while.

**Spoilers**: None.

**A/N**: I'm not really sure where this story came from and I hope it's not too OOC…

ooooooo

Standing in the entryway, I can still hear them arguing in the next room. Danny and I had stopped by Rachel's simply to drop off a couple of things Grace had left behind during her last weekend visit.

It had been a long day and we were both tired and frustrated by Five-0's current case. The idea had been to take a break, grab some dinner, and head back to HQ hopefully to gain a fresh perspective on the motive and means behind the crime we were investigating.

Danny had insisted on driving saying he needed to run a quick errand first before we headed to the restaurant. It didn't take long to recognize the route and Danny promised he'd be quick. He even invited me to come in with him in order to help keep him honest on his time.

Apparently though, Danny and I were not the only ones who were tired and frustrated. Things had started out pleasant enough, but then some rash and harsh words by both Danny and Rachel were said, and the visit had deteriorated into a near shouting match.

I had been standing there next to the front door trying not to listen for several awkward minutes before they finally noticed me and decided to move the argument to the next room. It didn't make things any less awkward and I could still easily hear them yelling, but I guess it gave them some illusion of privacy.

I had just begun debating the pros and cons of going outside to wait by the car, when movement from upstairs caught my eye. From where I was standing, I don't think she knew I was there, but I watched her tentatively walk towards the stairs.

She stopped at the top and from her expression I knew she could hear her parents arguing. As she stood there listening, her face morphed between fear, sadness, worry, and back again.

After a minute or two, she sat down on the top step – putting her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. I couldn't help but stare at my partner's daughter who was now reduced to a little ball of apprehension and tension.

After a while she must sense my presence and looks my way. I give her a half-hearted smile and wave. She returns the gesture, but it's obvious she has no heart in it either. Her gaze then strays back toward the room her parents are in and her face and the way she's sitting, is nearly breaking my heart.

I want to help, but I'm not sure how. I can't intervene in the argument between her parents, and I'm not sure how to help a little girl cope with the scene before her.

When my dad sent me away from the Islands, he sent me straight into a situation that Grace is experiencing right now. My relatives argued all the time, but the difference then was that I was old enough to just walk away from it. Go off by myself and do whatever until cooler heads prevailed. Besides, I don't think they ever noticed or cared that I was ever gone.

Grace is only a little girl and yet she seems to be much better able to handle the tension between her parents than I was with my family. My thoughts are unexpectedly interrupted when I hear Grace start to sniffle – trying not to cry.

Anger at both Danny and Rachel flares up within me, but it's tempered by sadness at the thought that Grace has to go through something like this at her age. She folds her arms and bows her head onto them, and her body begins to shudder with sorrow and the tears I assume are now flowing down her face.

I can't stand by anymore. I have to do something.

Pushing the irrational fear I have that I'll only make things worse aside, I move towards the stairs. I quietly climb them and sit a couple of steps lower than her to give her some space if my presence is truly not desired. I'm certain she knows I'm there, and she doesn't react negatively in any way so I assume it's OK for me to stay.

Danny and I have never fought for this long or in quite this way before, so I don't know what this type of shouting match means for Grace's parents. And I hope things won't escalate to the point where Rachel files a complaint and tries to take visitation rights away from Danny.

It would kill him if he wasn't allowed to see his daughter anymore. She's the only thing truly keeping him here, though I selfishly hope Five-0 and our team is steadily becoming another reason for him to stay in Hawai'i.

I don't make friends easily and I would hate to lose one that challenges me and is able to deal with my 'quirks'.

The volume of the argument from down below increases for a moment before going back to its previous level, and I find myself blurting, "I wish they wouldn't fight."

A muffled, "Me too," is my reply.

I look over at her to see her raise her head and take the corner of her light-weight sweater to dry the tears from her face. She shifts a little towards me and forlornly asks, "Steve, why do they have to fight?"

"I don't know Grace. Everyone fights at one time or another."

_Great job, Steve. Really helpful,_ I think.

"I don't like it when they fight about me."

Without thinking about it, I move up to sit on the same stair as Grace is on. "Danno and I fight sometimes," I confide. "Usually he does most of the yelling, but I've noticed recently that he does it because he cares. He yells at me to get me to recognize my actions, so that I'll be more careful in the future.

"So, your parents," I incline my head towards the room the yelling is currently emanating from, "are yelling at each other because they care about you so much that they sometimes can't express it any other way."

"Oh," she says looking uncertain before her eyes flick towards the sound of arguing. "I still don't like it."

"Me either."

She nods and then leans against me. I know she can feel that I tense up, but being Danny's daughter, she's just as determined and stays where she is. I force myself to relax and impulsively I shift to put an arm around her shoulders. Grace accepts the gesture and relaxes even more into my side, accepting the little comfort I feel so inadequate to provide.

We sit there like that for a few moments listening to the rise and fall of the voices we both wish would turn away from anger. A thought occurs to me and I find myself wanting to share it with Grace.

"I was just thinking that you are actually a really lucky little girl."

"Lucky?" Grace quietly asks.

"Yeah. Your Danno loves you so much he came thousands of miles across the country and an ocean just to be with you. When my mom died, my dad sent me away to live on the Mainland with family I didn't really know."

"Did he ever come to visit?"

"No," I reply, barely able to quell the feeling of jealousy towards the relationship Danny has with his daughter. I shrug like it's no big deal and explain, "We tried to speak on the phone at least once a week, sometimes more if he wasn't busy working."

I don't bother to tell her that sometimes my dad and I didn't speak at all for weeks if he was busy working a case.

"Do you see him now?"

"I can't. He's in heaven with my Mom." And, it's all I can do to not show how much it all still affects me especially knowing how and why she died.

Grace though must have picked up on my emotions anyway, because she shifts and steals an arm behind my back in an attempt to give me a hug. My arm on her shoulders tightens a little in response, and I feel a certain amount of guilt come over me.

My only intention was to try to make Grace feel a little better and all I've done is add to her sorrow – making things worse. _Danny's going to kill me for this,_ I think to myself.

I decide that I've done enough damage so I lift my arm up off Grace's shoulders intending to use it as leverage to stand up, but she grabs it forcing me to stay sitting.

"You're lucky too."

"I am?" I respond not really sure what she's trying to say.

"Yes," she replies with confidence. "You get to be with Danno all the time!"

I laugh and say, "Yeah. I guess I am lucky to have a friend like your dad." _Though I'm not so sure he'd see it that way_, I add inside my head considering the fact that he accuses me of nearly getting him killed just about every other day.

We each fall silent again and that's when I notice how quiet the house has become.

Taking this as a good sign, I say, "You hear that?"

Grace tilts her head to listen then shakes it, "Hear what?"

I dip my head towards the direction her parents had stormed off in. She looks where I'm indicating, then looks up at me and smiles.

"You should probably go back to your room now."

She nods in agreement and stands. After taking only a couple steps towards her bedroom, Grace turns, hesitates for a moment, and then throws her arms around my neck.

"Thanks," she says and squeezes again before letting go. She then turns and runs towards her bedroom.

Hearing noises from the direction Danny had gone, I quickly run down the stairs taking them two or three at a time. I make it back to the front door just as Danny emerges with Rachel. They seem to be acting civilly towards one another once more.

Danny stops midway between me and the staircase. Distractedly playing with his shirt sleeves, he says, "Uh, sorry you had to witness that."

I shrug and reply, "It's OK."

"No, it's not," he retorts as we watch Rachel head up the stairs. He points in her direction and says, "Rachel's allowing me to visit with Grace for a few minutes… You OK with waiting a little longer?"

"Of course, bud. Take whatever time you want." I open the front door. "I'll wait for you in the car."

"Thanks, man. I owe you one."

"No. We're good." I argue, as I slip out the door and pull it closed behind me.

ooooooo

_The end._

**ooooooo**

**A/N**: I sat down to read one of my books and guess what the title of that chapter was? It just seemed so perfect for this story. What do you think?

Anyone care to guess what book I'm reading? Hint: the story's title comes from the third chapter.

_**Thanks for reading!**_


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